The Starship Foundation is calling on Kiwis to help keep its "mini intensive care in the air" plane running to help transport sick children to hospital.
There's still $500,000 to raise by June 30 for the Keep Starship Flying appeal to make up the $1 million needed annually to keep the air ambulance running.
Last year, there were almost 200 retrieval missions, across 20 regions from Invercargill to Whangārei, to get ill youngsters to Auckland's Starship Hospital.
Starship's air ambulance clinical crew are highly trained intensive care experts, consisting of a doctor and nurse travel, who accompany the sick children and sometimes their family.
They operate 24/7, and when New Zealand was at Covid-19 Alert Level 4 the Starship National Air Ambulance was one of the few planes in the sky flying 12 retrieval missions around the country.
Senior nurse and flight nurse at Starship's paediatric intensive care unit Kate Forest has been making those flights for 22 years - she has no idea how many flights that could be.
But she told TVNZ 1's Breakfast this morning she gets a buzz from the work she does to save babies and children and return them to their families.
"I just love it, it's such a rewarding job."
She described the plane as a "mini intensive care in the air" which the medical professionals use to treat and care for the sick kids on whilst they're flying.
Staff nurse and flight nurse also at Starship's paediatic intensive care unit, Nicole O'Dwyer, said they're constantly working and communicating with the pilots on things like turbulence as they do their job.
"It's such a unique role and really, really challenging but rewarding. I am loving it, it's great," she said.
People wanting to help can donate to the cause at the Keep Starship Flying website .
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